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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27504775">I don’t quite know what to say</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/desiannabeth/pseuds/desiannabeth'>desiannabeth</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians &amp; Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff, at least I think it’s fluff, its some sort of weird gray area fic, percabeth, post botl, pre tlo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-08 03:16:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,157</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27504775</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/desiannabeth/pseuds/desiannabeth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy and Annabeth are mad at each other but not really, and it’s awkward and there’s so much left unsaid between them, but they still wanted to try (in which I try to make Percy slightly emotionally intelligent)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annabeth Chase &amp; Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I don’t quite know what to say</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Prompted by @deepestempathllamalawyer (on tumblr)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>————————————-</p><p>
  <em> I've been having a hard time adjusting, I had the shiniest wheels now they're rusting </em>
</p><p>————————————</p><p>Annabeth and Percy were best friends, at least they were supposed to be. They'd spent years learning each other nuances, fighting along side each other, and guarding the others back. They knew the others deepest fears and worst secrets, and loved them for it. Summers spent on quest after quest, where they were all each other had. They were each other's pillar in a sea of uncertainties. And five years of this had made them a well-oiled machine.</p><p>But now there was a wedge between them, unspoken words, thoughtless actions and a red-headed girl. Not that Annabeth hated Rachel, in fact she almost respected her courage. They might have even been friends if not for their mutual interest in a boy whose eyes held the sea. And so, pillars can be eroded overtime.</p><p>—————————————</p><p>
  <em> I didn't know if you'd care if I came back, I have a lot of regrets about that </em>
</p><p>————————————</p><p>Percy wringed his hands, an act brought about by anxiety. He wasn't even sure why he was this nervous, but he was. He stood at the crest of Half-blood hill, looking down at the camp below. He took a deep breath before crossing the invisible barrier that separated him from the world that prophesied his death.</p><p>He didn't stop to greet anyone, instead choosing to head directly towards the small clearing in the woods by the stream that he knew Annabeth frequented.</p><p>As he got closer, he spotted her lounging against a boulder, her head resting on the smooth stone surface and her eyes shut. Her hair fell around her in waves of gold, putting the sun herself to shame. And Percy's ridiculously hormonal heart did a little leap on seeing her legs stretched out against the grass, gleaming in the midday light. He calmed himself down before making his presence known.</p><p>———————————</p><p>
  <em> And my words shoot to kill when I'm mad, I have a lot of regrets about that </em>
</p><p>———————————</p><p>"Hey"</p><p>Annabeth's eyes shot open at the voice next to her, and she found herself looking at her supposed best friend.</p><p>"Hi" she replied, a small smile on her face, as he settled down next to her. She had meant to come across as closed off but she just couldn't, not when he flashed her that crooked smile and ran his hand through his hair like that. He'd always been lean but he was no longer scrawny. Long months of training had paid off, and Annabeth could see the muscles of his arm shifting under him as he sat down. He was also taller than her, only by a hair's breadth, but it still made her both sad and another feeling she couldn't quite explain.</p><p>But when her initial happiness wore off, she couldn't keep the anger out of her next words, "When?"</p><p>"When what?" Percy said, confusion lacing his voice.</p><p>"When are you leaving? In case you didn't realize I'm not Rachel" she spat out.</p><p>"What? Of course I know you're not Rachel! What does she even have to do with this?" His own voice raised slightly, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.</p><p>"If you do know that, then what are you doing here?" Her voice seethed with venom.</p><p>He seemed to catch himself before he could get truly angry though, and took a deep breath before continuing, "I just thought that, you know, maybe, we could, I don't know, spend the day together. Like old times. Of course, Grover is halfway across the country doing, I don't even know what, but just. I mean if you wanted to spend the day alone or something, that's fine with me, I just though-"</p><p>"It's fine Percy, you can stay" she didn't smile but her voice wasn't cold like it had been a minute before.</p><p>———————————</p><p>
  <em> The curve became a sphere, fell behind all my class mates and I ended up here </em>
</p><p>———————————</p><p>Annabeth couldn't believe she had ever doubted whether they were still friends as she told Percy all about a new style of architecture she was currently obsessed with. His eyes gleamed with interest, as he listened to every word that left her mouth as if it were a prayer. He smiled at all the right times and every time he told a joke or made a snarky comment, Annabeth had to resist the urge to throw her hands around him and kiss him.</p><p>Instead, she smiled and gently shoved him, stopping herself from doing something she'd regret. She'd already made it clear that she liked him, and he'd also made it clear that her feelings weren't reciprocated. I mean, sure they never actually spoke about the kiss but him running around New York with Rachel made his priorities clear enough. She didn't want to over step her boundaries or make him feel uncomfortable.</p><p>——————————</p><p>
  <em>It's hard to be anywhere these days when all I want is you</em>
</p><p>——————————</p><p>Percy wanted to kiss her, badly. Her eyes shone as she went on and on about contemporary architecture and how it's a highly conceptual style. Her tongue brushed against her lips, hoping to give them some respite from the hot summer air that hung around them. And her lips, they were all soft and sensual lines that begged to be explored.</p><p>But he couldn't, if the prophecy meant what he thought it did, he couldn't do that to her. She'd lost enough people, and losing him as what they were now was going to be hard enough for her. He wished he could tell that to her, tell her he wanted to spend every minute of every day by her side, but if he did he was scared he wouldn't want to leave when the time came. So he set boundaries, found different friends and made plans that didn't include her.</p><p>But he was still drawn back to her, an inexplicable force greater than the two of them, the opposite poles of a magnet, Percy to Annabeth.</p><p>———————————</p><p>
  <em>I just wanted you to know that this is me trying </em>
</p><p>———————————</p><p>"Are you even listening to me, dumb ass?" Annabeth shot out</p><p>"Yeah, yeah. 'Contemporary architecture has overlapping themes of monotony especially of materials and color, preening formalism and disregard for the gritty urban fabric'" Percy replied, quoting her back.</p><p>She smiled at him, one that made him regret ever pushing her out of his life. She slowly stood up. Brushing the dust off of her shorts, she extended her hand towards him.</p><p>"Want to go for a walk?" She asked, and all the walls Percy had put up over the past few months fell with something as simple as an request and an outstretched limb.</p><p>He grabbed her hand and hoisted himself up. And unknowingly or maybe knowingly, theirs fingers intertwined and didn't let go. Yes, their palms were sweaty but they still fit within each other. Sure, it wasn't perfect yet, but at least they were trying</p><p>———————————</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Inspired by “this is me trying”. Find me on tumblr (@youcanbemytaylor) :D</p></blockquote></div></div>
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